Metrolink Train Hits, Kills Man

A man committed suicide Tuesday by kneeling in front of an oncoming Metrolink commuter train, authorities said.

Witnesses said the unidentified man was riding a bicycle along the tracks in the 10300 block of San Fernando Road at 5:35 p.m. when he put the bike down as the train approached and stepped onto the tracks, said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, was struck by the 500-ton train traveling at 75 m.p.h., Hidalgo said.

The commuter train originated in Santa Clarita and was headed south to Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. None of the 34 passengers on the train were injured, Hidalgo said.

The train was delayed for 30 minutes.

“It was ironic that Metrolink recently had a series of billboards placed along San Fernando Road with the simple message that said ‘Stay off the tracks’ in Spanish and English,” Hidalgo said. “There was one right at that intersection.”

Hidalgo said it was the first suicide involving Metrolink this year. There have been five fatal trespassing accidents on the Metrolink network this year, he added.

Since Metrolink service began in October, 1992, 37 people have been killed by the trains, 12 of them declared suicides.